


I Need a Driver

by Flamo



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Corgi BB-8, M/M, Panic Attacks, Running Away, just a small one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 06:18:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9371918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamo/pseuds/Flamo
Summary: “I decided to run away from home and forgot to bring money, but I saw you at the bus stop and you look loaded please help me” AUorThe one where Finn is a foster kid who runs away and Poe walks his dog at night.





	1. A Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> There will be one more chapter after this. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Prompt from here: http://dailyau.tumblr.com/post/153776377148/i-decided-to-run-away-from-home-and-forgot-to

Finn had no idea what he was doing.

He had decided on a whim to run away after watching his foster siblings jump a kid in an alley. He had known for a long time his foster sibling’s were kind of assholes, but he had known them since they were kids in an orphanage and put up with it because he had never known anything else. Not that he had much of a choice anyway, considering they were all living in the same foster home—something that wasn’t exactly Finn’s choice. This was his limit, though. It was the first time he had ever seen his housemates do anything so violent—he hadn’t gone out much with them before, so he had no idea if this kind of thing had happened before, but it seemed likely that it had.

So, like the coward he is, he ran. Unfortunately, he didn’t think his plan through very well, and forgot his wallet, along with many other belongings. He had left in a rush, having run away while his housemates were laughing about the kid they attacked. He had ran home and shoved as much as he could into his backpack—basically just his laptop, phone, and some clothes—before getting out as fast as he could, before any of them or, god forbid, their foster mother came home.

Now, here he was, standing at a bus stop without a single penny on him. He was suddenly hit by what he had done, and felt a panic attack coming on. He didn’t know what he was doing—he just knew he couldn’t stay in that home anymore. He couldn’t go back, not now that his foster mother had probably figured out what he had done. He had been planning on going to his new friend, Rey’s, foster home for refuge—her foster home was much nicer than Finn’s. They had only met a couple days ago, when they were sent to their respective foster homes, but had become quick friends and promised to stay in touch. She didn’t live too far away—about an hour long bus ride—but without any money Finn wouldn’t be able to even get on the bus.

He had his phone, but it had died earlier that day, while he was at school, and he hadn’t gotten a chance to go home and charge it before the incident.

He was full on panicking now, his breaths coming out fast and erratic and there were tears filling his eyes. That was when he felt a hand land on his shoulder and flinched, terrified. They knew he had run away, and they had found him. They were going to hurt him just like they hurt that kid, and he was going to die right there, at that moment, standing at a bus stop.

“Hey, buddy, you alright?” No, that wasn’t right. That didn’t sound like any of his foster siblings, nor did it sound like his foster mother. The voice was gentle, concerned, and Finn felt like he was going to pass out.

 “Buddy,” the voice repeated, and the hand on his shoulder shook him a little bit. He blinked, trying to get his panic under control, and finally looked up to see who was talking to him. He took a deep breath when he saw who it was—a boy, who looked a couple years older than him, maybe 19. Finn’s first thought was that he was attractive, but he forced that thought down. His second thought was that he looked like he had money, and that was what Finn needed at the moment.

“Yeah,” Finn says, his voice cracking, so he repeats himself, this time his voice more confident as he feels his panic subsiding, “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Good, I was worried for a minute there,” the other boy says, clapping Finn on his back before pulling his hand away, “What’s your name?”

“2187,” was Finn’s immediate reply—it was his number in the system, and what he had been referred to as his whole life. Even now, his foster mother called him that rather than his real name, and when he was asked who he was he was supposed to recite his numbers. It was the easiest way to keep track of all the children, they claimed, but it felt like they were just trying to strip away their identities, “Er, sorry, I mean Finn.”  Finn corrects himself, embarrassed, when the other boy gives him a strange, confused look.

“Oh, cool.” The other boy says, a grin forming on his face. He doesn’t question the numbers. “I’m Poe.”

“Cool,” Finn says awkwardly, unsure of their conversation. He was trying to think of a way to ask for some money without sounding greedy or desperate, but his mind was coming up blank.

“So, what are you doing out here, Finn?” Poe asks, tilting his head slightly and Finn had to fight down thoughts of how attractive that was.

“I- uh, you know, waiting for the bus.” Finn replies awkwardly, and okay, this is it; he’s going to ask for some money now. “What are you doing?” He couldn’t do it. Poe holds up his hand and Finn notices he’s holding a leash. He follows the leash down and finds a corgi standing there, its tongue lolling out as it pants, and he can’t help but grin, “Oh. What’s your dog’s name?”

“ BB-8,” Poe replies, then cuts Finn off before he can say anything else, “Don’t ask.”

“Okay, then.” Finn says, and then gathers himself. Poe is smiling at him, and he’s obviously nice, considering he came over to see if Finn was okay while he was panicking. At worst he would just say no to him, unless he was like Finn’s foster family…

“Hey, you okay?” Poe asks, and Finn realizes he had been staring at the ground intently while thinking.

“Yeah, sorry, I just-” Finn takes a deep breath, “Look, this is kind of embarrassing, but I don’t actually have any money on me. I really need to catch the bus, though, so I was wondering if maybe you had any? It’s cool if you don’t, or don’t want to give me anything, though. Totally cool, I understand.” Finn is rambling, and he knows it, but he’s nervous and just can’t stop until Poe cuts him off.

“I don’t have anything on me, sorry.” Poe looks genuinely apologetic, frowning at him before his eyes light up, “But I do have a car, so if you’re willing to walk home with me I can drive you wherever you need to go.” Poe offers, and Finn immediately feels apprehensive. Poe hadn’t shown any signs of being a creep, but you could never be sure.

“I don’t know, I mean- you could be a murderer or something.” Finn says awkwardly, voicing his thoughts. Luckily, Poe just chuckles.

“What if I promise you I’m not a murderer?” Poe asks, and he has such an easy, kind smile on that Finn can’t help but smile back.

“Yeah, okay I guess.” Finn says, “I don’t have too much of a choice, anyway.” It’s true—it’s late, and he would be catching one of the last buses of the day if he did have money, but he didn’t, so it was likely he would be stuck at the bus stop overnight unless he took Poe up on his offer.

Finn suddenly notices how cold he is now that he’s finally calmed down, and suppresses a shiver. He had forgotten to put on a sweater, and if he had one it was stuffed somewhere in his mess of a backpack—he would never be able to find it without having to pull nearly everything else out of the bag. At least he had worn a long sleeve shirt.

“You’re cold,” Poe says, and of course he had to notice.

“I’m fine,” Finn replies quickly.

“Here.” Poe says, shrugging off his own jacket—brown and red, leather, worn from use—and holding it out to Finn, “Take my jacket.” He says, and Finn quickly shakes his head, pushing it back towards Poe. He was already bothering him for a ride; he couldn’t take his jacket, too. “Take it.” Poe repeats, his voice stern. Finn listens, and hesitantly puts the jacket on. He immediately feels warmer.

“Thanks,” Finn says, smiling at Poe, who smiles warmly in return.

“No problem.” Poe replies, “Now let’s get moving.” He glances down at BB-8, who had lain down at some point during their conversation, and gently tugs the leash to get her attention. The dog immediately shoots up, ready to go, and Finn can’t help but grin at the energetic puppy as they begin walking.

The walk to Poe’s house doesn’t take very long—maybe 10 minutes—and is mostly filled with a comfortable silence with the occasional small talk. Finn learns that BB-8 is 1 year old, and that Poe is hoping to be either an air force pilot or a flight instructor, and is currently taking a gap year after graduating high school. Finn doesn’t share anything about himself, but Poe doesn’t seem to mind.

“Here we are,” Poe says, coming to a stop in front of a comfortable-looking house. It’s not particularly large, but not small either. It looks to be the perfect size for a small family—Poe never mentioned anything about having any siblings. He didn’t talk about his family much at all, really, just mentioning his father once. “Let me just get BB-8 inside, then I can drive you wherever it is you’re going.”

Finn suddenly felt guilty—he hadn’t mentioned where he was going to Poe. It would take about half an hour to drive to Rey’s house, and he was tempted to just run away again while Poe had his back turned. He suppressed that urge, though, and told himself that if Poe didn’t want to drive a stranger that far so late at night he would tell him.

“So,” Poe said, walking away from the door and gesturing for Finn to follow him as he headed for the garage, “Where are we going?”

“It’s kind of far,” Finn admitts, but Poe just shrugs, so he continues, “Like, a half hour drive.”

“That’s fine,” Poe says with an easy smile, “I like driving, so it’s no problem.” Finn instantly feels relieved—he didn’t know what he would do if Poe didn’t want to drive him. Probably sleep on the sidewalk.

“Thank you,” Finn breathes, grinning at Poe in relief. Poe just smirks at him as he opens the garage. Finn stood off to the side, watching the door slowly open.

“Okay, so she’s not the most amazing car out there,” Poe began, “But she’s my baby, so no insulting her.”

“I thought BB-8 was your baby,” Finn teased.

“They’re both my babies.” Poe replied stubbornly, grinning at Finn as the garage finished opening and the lights turned on and, okay, Poe was right. It definitely was not the most amazing car out there. It was old and beat up; dark grey with orange accents. It wasn’t very attractive looking, but Finn kept his mouth shut. Beggars can’t be choosers, after all.

“After you,” Poe says, gesturing to the garage. Finn hesitates for a moment, momentarily pondering whether this was really a good idea or not, before decided to screw it and walked into the garage. Poe follows him and climbs into the driver seat of the car, so Finn quickly makes his way into the passenger seat.

“So, what’s the address?” Poe asks as he backs out of the garage, and Finn tells him Rey’s address after another moment of silent debate. Hopefully Rey won’t mind.

The drive is mostly quiet, like their walk, and Finn spends most of the time looking out the window, until 15 minutes in when Poe clears his throat and Finn looks over at him.

“I don’t mean to intrude, but why exactly are you going so far so late at night?” Poe asks, “Because I’m not going to lie, it looks like you’re running away, and I just want to know whether I need to be concerned or not.”

“I am running away,” Finn says after a minute of silence. Poe’s hands tighten on the wheel.

“How old are you, exactly?” Poe asks, his voice slightly strained. Finn can understand his concern.

“17.” Finn replies, and Poe relaxes a little, “I’m 18 in a few months.”

“Okay, good.” Poe says, “Not that you look too much younger than you are, but, y’know, some people look older than they are.”

“Are you going to take me back?” Finn asks nervously as Poe signals to turn left at a stop light. Finn might be a little worried Poe’s going to make a u-turn and take him back. He doesn’t know what he would do if that happened—he couldn’t go back to his foster home. He just couldn’t.

“No,” Poe replies easily, “But mind telling me why you’re running away and where you’re going?”

“I’m in foster care,” Finn says hesitantly, but Poe doesn’t react so he relaxes a bit, “And my foster home… isn’t great. I was willing to deal with it, but… Today my foster siblings jumped some defenceless kid and I just… I can’t stay there.”

“Okay,” Poe says, and Finn doesn’t miss the concerned look the older man shoots him, “Where are you going, then?”

“My friend’s house,” Finn replies, barely hesitating this time. If Poe wanted to murder him he would have done it by now. Probably. “We only met a couple days ago, before we were put in our foster homes, but we’ve stayed in touch, and her foster home is a lot better. I’m hoping they’ll be willing to have me around until I things can get sorted out.”

“Is that legal?” Poe asks, and Finn just shrugs. Poe lets out a huff of laughter, “Alright, then.”

They spend the rest of the drive talking, telling each other bad jokes and laughing for the most part. Before long, Poe is pulling up outside Rey’s house—they think, it’s a bit hard to tell in the dark.

“I’ll wait here until you go inside, just in case.” Poe says, and Finn can see the concern in his eyes. He nods before climbing out of the car and grabbing his bag. “See you later, buddy.”

Finn walks nervously up to the door and rings the doorbell after a moment’s hesitation.

The door is opened by a grumpy-looking man with grey hair, and Finn hesitates. He could just turn around, run away again, but suppresses the urge. Of course the man would be grumpy; he was being disturbed late at night on a weekday by an unknown teenager.

“Uh, hi,” Finn begins. The man just continues to scowl at him, “Does Rey live here?”

“What d’you want with her?” The man asks, standing up straighter, making himself look even more intimidating.

“Oh, uh, we met at the orphanage a couple days ago,” Finn says quickly, “Before we were sent to our foster homes.”

“Why are you here?” The man asks, but he has relaxed some and looks a bit more welcoming.

“I- I had to leave my foster home.” Finn stammers and the man frowns, “I was wondering if you could help me. Not for long, just until- until I can sort things out.”

“Come in then, boy, so we can talk.” The man says, stepping off to the side. Finn doesn’t hesitate to step in, but quickly says ‘wait,’ when the man goes to close the door. He quickly sticks his head back out and waves at Poe, who he can just make out waves back before starting his car again.

Finn slips back inside, and prepares himself for what’s to come.

It’s not until much later, after a long conversation and a reunion with Rey, that he realizes he never gave Poe his jacket back.


	2. A Mechanic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three years later, they meet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said this would be 2 chapters but I ended up writing 3. Oops.

It had been 3 years since Finn met Poe and he still has his jacket.

Things had worked out pretty well for Finn. Han Solo, Rey’s foster father, had let Finn stay with him for the months leading up to his birthday after talking to some social workers. He even let Finn stay for the 2 month gap between his and Rey’s birthdays. By that point, they had both graduated high school and were preparing to go off into the ‘real world.’

Rey decided to go into mechanical engineering, and Finn had no idea what he wanted to do, so he followed her to the University of Texas and found a job nearby. He himself couldn’t attend university like she could—she had scholarships and Han Solo to back her up, while Finn had nothing. So, he got a job at a café and tried to decide what to do with his life.

After much debate and saving up, he separated from Rey for a year and a half to get basic EMT training.

He was now back in Austin and living with Rey again, working for the Austin Fire Department. It wasn’t the best pay, but he made enough to cover his half of rent and pay for food, so that was good enough for him.

That wasn’t the point, though—the point was that it had been 3 years since Poe had given him his jacket, and he was still wearing it. He couldn’t help himself—it was a really comfortable jacket. Not to mention he liked Poe, and wouldn’t have minded becoming friends with him. For a while he assumed Poe would show up at Solo’s house to pick up his jacket, but he never did, and Finn couldn’t remember his address so he couldn’t return it himself. So, Finn did the only logical thing to do; he wore the jacket like it was his own.

It was never a problem—he never expected to see Poe again, anyway. It was a big world, and the chances of them meeting again were too small for him to hold on to that hope. Until one day, the universe decided to prove him wrong.

It was a fairly normal day—Finn would have to work night shift, but he was enjoying the day while he could before he went home to try and get a little more sleep before his shift. That was the problem with being a firefighter—constantly changing shifts. He had worked day shift the day before, so his sleep schedule would be thrown off, but that was nothing new.

Finn was going to visit Rey at work for the first time since he returned to Austin just over a month ago. It had taken a while for things to settle down again, but Rey had asked him out to lunch the night before while they were eating dinner. She had asked him to meet her at work—he didn’t have a vehicle, and it would waste too much time for her to drive to the apartment to pick him up then back to the garage she worked at so they could go to the diner next door when he could just walk.

Rey worked at an auto repair shop, owned by none other than Han Solo himself, who had recently come to Austin to open said shop. Finn was pretty sure he moved because of Rey, who he thought of as a daughter, not that he would ever say anything out loud.

That still wasn’t the point, though. The point was, Finn was about to walk into the shop when he heard a shout of “buddy!” from behind him, and—wait. No. He knew that voice. He whipped around and saw Poe— _Poe­_ —jogging towards him from the garage with a grin on his face. Finn was frozen for a brief moment before grinning and jogging towards Poe, meeting him half way.

He immediately found himself in an embrace, and quickly hugged back. It was nice, the feeling of their bodies pressed together. Finn had only ever gotten hugs from Rey, and this—this was different. He couldn’t explain it, but it was definitely different.

All too soon Poe was pulling away, still grinning. He glanced up and down Finn, giving him a once over, then paused for a second. Finn furrowed his brows then—oh.

“You’re wearing my jacket.” Poe says, and Finn flushes. Of course he had chosen to wear Poe’s jacket today, _of course_. To be fair, though, he didn’t exactly expect to see Poe today, or ever, really.

“Oh, here,” Finn says quickly, going to take off the jacket, but Poe pushes it back on his shoulders

“No, keep it,” Poe says, grinning again, “It suits you.” Then Poe is biting his lip and Finn finds himself frozen again. Something Poe seemed to always be capable of doing to him. Poe looked really, really attractive when he bit his lip, though, so you couldn’t really blame him.

“Finn!” The moment is broken by Rey, who had exited the shop—probably in search of him—and was running toward them. Finn soon found himself in another embrace, this one briefer and more familiar. “I see you’ve met Poe.” She says, smiling at the other man. Finn notices range of emotions cross Poe’s face before he settles on a smile.

“We’ve met before actually,” Poe began, and Rey raised an eyebrow, “What was it—three years ago? I drove him to your house when he ran away.”

“Oh, Finn’s mentioned you!” Rey says, smiling and nodding, “He never mentioned your name, though, so I never put it together.”

“Finn’s mentioned me?” Poe asks, raising an eyebrow and sparing a glance at Finn before focusing his attention back on Rey.

“Yeah, of course,” Rey replies, but doesn’t say anything else on the matter. Poe, seeming to be used to Rey, doesn’t ask any more.

“So, you two are going on a lunch date?” Poe asks, and Finn lets out a snort of laughter.

“Date?” Rey repeats, an incredulous look on her face, “God, no. He’s like a brother to me.” Finn nods at that, not feeling the need to say anything—he definitely did not need to mention he had had a crush on Rey for the first few months he knew her. He notices another range of emotions cross Poe’s face before he’s smiling again, this time differently.

“Well, have fun on your _date_ ,” Poe teases, putting emphasis on the word ‘date.’ Rey scoffs and Finn smiles.

“You could join us, if you want,” Finn offers, and Rey nods in agreement.

“Nah, I wouldn’t want to impose.” Poe says, shaking his head and taking a step back, “Maybe we could catch up later, Finn?”

“Yeah, sure,” Finn replies, then pulls out his phone, “Here, give me your number. We can text and set up somewhere to meet up.” Finn offers his phone to Poe, who takes it and quickly enters his information.

“See you later, buddy,” Poe says, and somehow Finn knows he’ll hold true to that.

 

* * *

 

Finn’s shift had already started when he remembered he needed to text Poe. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if 11pm was too late, before shaking his head. Poe probably wouldn’t answer until the morning, but Finn wanted to make sure he didn’t think he forgot about him. So, he shot off a quick text.

_To: Poe_

_Hey, it’s Finn._

It doesn’t take long for him to get a reply.

_From: Poe_

_Finn!!! Hey buddy!!! :)_

Finn grins at Poe’s text—because _of course_ he would use excessive punctuation—before shooting one back, asking what he’s up to. Poe replies that he’s just relaxing and Finn tells him he’s at work. Poe tells him that Finn will have to tell him about his job, and then adds ‘ _Maybe over lunch tomorrow???’_ and Finn can’t help but grin at his phone. He’ll have another night shift tomorrow, but he can probably spare a bit of sleep to go out for lunch with Poe. He shoots back a quick agreement, but doesn’t get to see if Poe replies to that because they’ve gotten a call and Finn has a job to do.

 

* * *

 

Finn was tired. That’s all he had to say. He had gotten home at 7am after a long, trying night, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately, he had agreed to meet up with Poe for lunch at 12, so he didn’t get much of the sleep he desperately needed. He didn’t mind too much, though—he liked Poe and wanted to catch up with him.

They were meeting at a pet-friendly café, and Poe was bringing BB-8 so Finn could see her again. He had to admit he liked the dog, even though he only met her once and didn’t really get a chance to see much of her personality. She was cute though, and that’s all that really mattered to Finn. He was looking forward to seeing both her and Poe.

He arrived at the café 5 minutes late, and found Poe already sitting at a table with a coffee, watching the door. His face broke into a grin when he saw Finn, and gestured for Finn to come over. That’s when Finn noticed there was a second coffee on the table.

“I didn’t know what you wanted, so I just got you a black coffee.” Poe says, giving him a hesitant smile, “I hope that’s okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine!” Finn says eagerly, “I’m just gonna go get some milk and sugar really quick.” He then makes his way over to the small counter that held the milk and sugar and added said milk and sugar to his coffee. He made his way back, freezing when he heard a growl.

Poe looked down, frowning at BB-8, “She doesn’t normally do that,” He says to Finn, a look of pure confusion on his face. Realization quickly dawned on his face, though, and he broke out into another grin while Finn stood next to the table awkwardly, “It’s the jacket.”

Of course. Finn had worn the jacket again, and he realized BB-8 must associate the jacket with Poe still, and wasn’t happy about him wearing it, “Are you sure you don’t want it back?”

“No, really, it’s fine,” Poe says quickly, “It really does look good on you.” He then turns back to BB-8, “It’s okay, BB, I gave it to him.” BB-8 stops growling at that, but still doesn’t look happy.

“Maybe I should get her a treat?” Finn offers, glancing over at the glass counter that held the treats, including those for dogs. Poe’s face immediately lit up, and Finn knew he had made the right decision.

“Yeah, she would love that!” Poe says, and Finn returns his smile before quickly making his way over to the counter. He orders a large dog biscuit, hoping it would help win over BB-8. He paid, and then thanked the barista quickly before making his way back over to the table and offering the treat to BB-8.

BB immediately took the treat, wagging her tail happily. Poe was watching with a soft smile on his face, and Finn grinned, “Looks like my plan worked.” Poe simply nodded with that soft smile still on his face and an emotion Finn couldn’t read in his eyes.

Finn took the seat opposite to Poe and they talked for an hour about anything and everything. Finn learned that Poe was in the Air Force reserves as a fighter pilot as well as working at the repair shop, and in turn Finn told him about his job as a firefighter. Poe seemed impressed by his job, which filled Finn with a strange, warm feeling. He also learned Poe was 25, making him 4 years older than Finn, rather than the 2 he previously assumed. Finn learned Poe had been teaching BB-8 tricks, and at the end of their lunch he had asked if Finn wanted to go over to his apartment one day so he could show off some tricks. Finn had agreed with a grin that was quickly returned by Poe. They agreed to decide on a date and time over text before parting ways—Finn going home and Poe going back to work.

Finn collapsed into bed with a wide smile on his face.

 

* * *

 

Later on that day, when Finn is filling Rey in on his day, Rey rolls her eyes, but smiles at him fondly.

“You talk as if you’re in love with him.” Rey jokes, but the joke strikes a chord in Finn, who comes to a sudden, shocking realization.

Finn looks at Rey with wide eyes, “I’m in love with Poe Dameron.”


	3. A Firefighter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted this to just be a happy fic. I'm sorry.  
> tw for hospitalization and serious injury due to house fire
> 
> ALSO  
> I posted this at the same time as chapter 2 so make sure you read that first.

“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Rey says with another eye roll, “You just have a crush on him. You can’t be in love with him yet, you barely know him.”

“Yeah,” Finn says with a nod, “Yeah. You’re right. Still, what am I supposed to do?”

“Tell him?” Rey provides in what she thinks is a helpful manner. Finn doesn’t find it very helpful.

“I can’t just tell him,” Finn says, throwing his hands up dramatically.

“I think you’re blowing this a bit out of proportion.” Rey tells him, not a hint of sympathy in her voice. Finn glares at her, but she just rolls her eyes once again, “Stop being so melodramatic.”

Finn goes to argue, but then stops. He really is being melodramatic.

“Sorry,” He tells her, and she smiles at him fondly.

“Really though, you should tell him.” Rey says, “Before you get in too deep.”

“Yeah, I know,” Finn says, his shoulders slumping. He really doesn’t want to get too invested in his friendship with Poe only to have his crush ruin it. It would be better to tell him now—he’s smart enough not to rely on the fact that he _might_ get over the crush with time.

 

* * *

 

It doesn’t work.

Finn goes over to Poe’s house a week after their meeting at the café, fully intending on telling Poe about his crush, but gets distracted by watching him and BB-8 perform tricks and doesn’t remember his plan until he’s walking home.

He tells himself he’ll tell Poe the next time they see each other, but Poe spends the time talking about flying and Finn can’t focus on anything but his words. It continues like that, Finn going in telling himself he’ll tell Poe each time, and each time something makes him put it off.

They’ve been friends for five months now and Finn’s crush still hasn’t gone away. He resolves to tell Poe the next day, even going so far as to text him, telling the older man there’s something important he needs to tell him.

Then, of course, because this is Finn’s life, everything goes to Hell.

It was a cat. There was a set of twins, who couldn’t have been older than five, screaming for their cat, lost somewhere in the blaze of what used to be their house, and Finn _couldn’t_. He just couldn’t, and without thinking he plunged back into the inferno. It wasn’t safe—he knew that, but he ignored the shouting of his fellow firefighters and lieutenant and went back in anyway, all for a cat. He found the cat easy enough, but the flames were getting worse, and the cat wasn’t squirming anymore, and Finn was worried it wasn’t going to make it. He couldn’t stop, though—he was already in enough trouble, he didn’t want to see the pain in those kid’s eyes when they learned their cat was gone.

He pushed through, but it wasn’t enough. He managed to get close enough to the door to pass the cat to another firefighter awaiting his return, but a beam fell before he could leave himself. It hit his back and all he felt before passing out was _burning_.

 

* * *

 

 

When Finn woke up, his head was foggy and it took him at least a full minute to realize he was in a hospital. It took him even longer to register the fact someone was holding his hand so tight he was pretty sure they were cutting off his circulation.

It took him longer than he would care to admit to realize it was Rey. Rey, who, when he studied her closely, looked like Hell. Her hair was messy, her buns falling apart. She was sleeping, with her head resting on Finn’s legs.

It took him even longer to realize he couldn’t feel her weight on his legs.

He doesn’t think about it. Instead, he lets sleep overtake him again as he wonders exactly what kind of pain meds they have him on.

 

* * *

 

The next time Finn wakes up, there’s a squeezing feeling on his upper arm and he forces his heavy eyes open to see a nurse taking his blood pressure. She smiles kindly at him when she sees he’s awake, and says what Finn thinks is that she’s going to get the doctor.

He’s half asleep again by the time the doctor shows up, his mind still groggy and body numb. The doctor uses a lot of big words but the only thing Finn can really make out is ‘paralyzed.’

Rey bursts into the room before the doctor is finished. There are tears in her eyes but her face is contorted in relief, not sadness. Finn is glad, because he doesn’t think he could stand to see her in pain. The doctor tries to usher her out, but Finn reaches for her and she clutches his hand like she believes he’ll disappear if she lets go. The doctor lets her stay.

Finn asks her about the cat. She laughs and tells him the cat made it out fine. She pulls out a stuffed cat from seemingly nowhere, telling him the family got it for him when they visited. Finn smiles as he drifts off again.

 

* * *

 

 

When Finn wakes up again, he feels a dull, burning ache in his back, but his mind is clearer. He sees a button tied to the rail of his bed and instinctively reaches out to push it. A nurse appears not a moment later, a kind smile on his face. Finn’s mouth is dry, and when he tries to speak, all that comes out is a strangled croak.

The nurse hands him a cup of water with a straw from his bedside table—which also held the stuffed cat. He tries again.

“Rey?” He asks, the first thing that comes to his mind being his friend.

“Your friend?” The nurse asks, and Finn nods, “Visiting hours ended a little while ago.” Finn frowns, and the nurse continues speaking, “But, if you’d like, since you don’t have any other family, we can call her to let her know you’re awake and have her come back down.”

“That would be great,” Finn replies, his voice hoarse. He takes another sip of water as the nurse nods.

The nurse checks his vitals before making his way out of the room, promising to call Rey as soon as possible.

Rey arrives what feels like almost an hour later. She has dark bags under her eyes and her hair is a mess. Finn can’t help but chuckle, and she frowns at him.

“Asshole,” She says, but her voice is filled with emotion and Finn knows she doesn’t mean it, “I thought you were going to die.” Then there are tears, and Finn doesn’t know what to do so he reaches out and pulls her as close to him as he can.

Eventually, the tears stop and she takes a seat on his bed. Finn tries not to pay attention to the lack of feeling in his legs. He knows somewhere in the back of his head why, but he doesn’t want to think about that. Not right now.

“Poe?” Finn asks instead, his voice still hoarse and throat scratchy. Rey gives him a knowing look.

“We’ve been taking turns visiting you, so you wouldn’t be alone if you woke up,” She pauses, “Outside of visiting hours, that is.”

“I don’t remember him.” Finn says, confused. He can remember another hand in his, but he can only remember that hand being Rey’s.

“You never woke up while he was here,” Rey explains with a sad smile, “I’ll call him in the morning to tell him you woke up. If I call him now, he’ll make a huge scene trying to see you.”

Finn’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. He didn’t realized Poe cared so much about him. Rey rolls her eyes, as if reading his mind, but doesn’t say anything more on that matter.

“How are you feeling?” She asks, instead, her face softer than before.  There’s no pity in her eyes, and Finn would feel more relieved if it wasn’t for the sadness there instead.

“I can’t feel my legs,” is all Finn says; is all he can say. Rey just nods. They sit in silence the rest of the night, both dozing off but neither willing to be apart from the other.

 

* * *

 

 

When Finn wakes up in the morning, Rey is gone, but there is someone else there in her place.

“Poe,” He says, his voice cracking as he gets a good look at the older man sitting next to him. If Finn thought Rey looked like Hell, well, she had nothing on Poe.

The man looked like he hadn’t shaved since Finn was hospitalized—which he had learned last night was just over two weeks ago—and had dark bags under his eyes, making it look almost like he had two black eyes. His hair was an absolute mess, and Finn definitely shouldn’t have been thinking about the fact Poe still managed to look attractive, even like that. He blames that thought on the pain meds coursing through his system.

Poe jumps when Finn says his name, wide eyes narrowing in on Finn’s face.

“Hey, buddy,” Poe says, obviously going for something light-hearted, but his voice cracks and so does Finn’s heart.

“Are you okay?” Finn asks, because that’s all he can think to say.

“You’re the one in the hospital, and you’re asking me if I’m okay?” Poe asks, and he’s wearing a fond smile that fills Finn with warmth. He thinks maybe it’s time he tells Poe, and it might just be the meds talking for him but if that’s what it takes, then at least he can always blame it on them and hope Poe believes him.

“I like you,” Finn says, and Poe freezes for a second before chuckling.

“Yeah, I would hope so,” Poe says, grinning at him, “We _are_ friends, right?” There’s a hint of uncertainty there, like he’s not completely sure where he and Finn stand at the moment.

“No, I mean I like you,” Finn says, and Poe stiffens again, “A lot. Like, more than a friend. I might even love you.”

There’s a long silence, and Finn thinks that this is it, that it’s over between them. Then, there’s a soft smile on Poe’s face and he leans forward, brushing his lips against Finn’s quickly, and then pulls away, grinning.

“I love you, too,” is all Poe says, and Finn grins back at him.

He thinks maybe things will be alright.

Now, he just needs someone to drive him home.


End file.
